ATNS depends on its employees developing themselves beyond work-based training
The Air Traffic Navigation Services (ATNS) philosophy is that of a life journey of learning and development, and that such learning occurs through a multitude of daily experiences. The intent is to afford all staff the opportunity to learn and develop, either within their immediate domain or beyond the mere daily job routine.
This inevitably means that ATNS is depending on employees to identify, create and make use of opportunities to develop themselves beyond traditional work-based training. ATNS employees are encouraged to seek out opportunities for experiential learning while being immersed in the industry and to share this knowledge and expertise among each other. Moreover, it is the aim of learning and development in ATNS to cross-pollinate, and find reasons and opportunities for formal and informal mentoring and employees’ coaching of each other. It is the desire of the ATNS chief executive that every employee creates regular opportunities for development by spending time reading up on matters that direct the leading edge of their discipline and the industry that they find themselves in.
ATNS subscribes to the philosophy of thought leaders Richard Branson, who said in 2014: “Train your people well enough so they can leave, treat them well enough so they don’t want to” and Nelson Mandela, who famously declared in 1994 that: “Education is the great engine of personal development”.
Creating personalised employee development plans is part of the ATNS performance contracting process, which is managed through an internal electronic tool. The aim of creating the plans is to help managers and employees decide how they can work together to maintain or increase performance, and to more fully develop each employee’s potential value. The development of a personal development plan consists of five basic activities: determining if change is needed, analysis, planning, implementation and evaluation according to the competencies required for the role. Developmental needs captured in an Individual Development Plan (IDP) enables the leadership within each department to determine the priorities for that year.
All employees have electronically signed IDPs linked to their performance that drives their developmental focus. Driving the achievement of the development plan is the responsibility of each employee, and the manager is expected to provide the support, infrastructure and coaching for the employee to achieve these goals. ATNS believes that employee development should consist of the following principles:
You must keep your knowledge and skills up to date throughout your working life;
You should be familiar with relevant guidelines and developments that affect your work;
You should regularly take part in educational activities that maintain and further develop your competence and performance;
You must keep up to date with, and adhere to, the laws and codes of practice relevant to your work; and
All training must be aligned to the Vision, Mission, Objectives and Values of ATNS.
The ATNS staff is committed to creating an enabling, equitable, supportive, challenging and stimulating environment, which values and empowers employees at all levels. Training and development is and will remain an important factor in achieving this goal.
People plus talent equals talent magnet
CSR and sustainability programmes form a crucial link with profitability, research reveals — and they are also emerging as a key differentiator in the recruitment process.
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes are a key mechanism to boost engagement and attract top talent, research among Top Employers across South Africa shows.
Effective CSR programmes grow the three Ps: profit, people and planet, says Billy Elliott, country manager of the Top Employers Institute (TEI) in South Africa. Increasing this “triple bottom line” is a consistent pattern among Top Employers, and research shows 97% of Top Employers in the country have defined an organisation-wide CSR programme.
Why you should be leveraging CSR
The TEI, which certifies and recognises excellence in the conditions employers create for their people globally, helps organisations stay on top of current HR best practices. One of the areas that the TEI researches is how to ensure an effective CSR programme.
The majority of Top Employers across South Africa implement all these practices in their CSR programmes, says Elliott: “Taking CSR seriously as a differentiator is as essential in the competition for talent as it is for reputation building among stakeholders.
“CSR and sustainability programmes are the primary way that organisations demonstrate their willingness to improve society and give back in a meaningful way,” says Elliott. “As such, these initiatives are emerging as a key mechanisms not only to make employees feel proud and involved with the organisation — enhancing organisational culture — but to attract new talent.”
How you should be leveraging CSR
Forbes contributor James Epstein-Reeves agrees that an effectively implemented CSR programme can have a major impact on employee engagement and stakeholder relationships and therefore, ultimately, profitability. Echoing Elliott’s sentiments on the three Ps, Epstein-Reeves cites a link between CSR and innovation, brand differentiation, employee engagement and even long-term cost saving.
Effectiveness requires buy-in, points out Elliott. Across South Africa, 94% of Top Employers consistently make information about their CSR programme freely accessible to employees, and 87% consistently evaluate their impact and effectiveness. In order to encourage employees to participate, over 75% grant special leave for participation in CSR activities.
South African Top Employer Thermo Fisher Scientific, for example, supports Stop Hunger Now, an international body that co-ordinates the distribution of food and other life-saving aid. Kirstie Bean, HR leader Africa for the company, says via Thermo Fisher’s CSR programme Get Involved, employees from various divisions work together to pack food hampers, sometimes up to 20 000 in a single drive.
Leveraging CSR for the long-term
Portia Bangerezako, head of Sustainability at Top Employer South Africa Sanlam, says that as a financial institution, Sanlam aims to help build economic resilience, and their progress is reported annually in the sustainability report. The report links CSR to the company strategy overall, and employees are encouraged to volunteer ideas.
Some targets set by Sanlam include reducing their own electricity and water consumption; a transformative partnership with WWF SA, identifying strategic water sources (an open source project which is accessible to all); and distributing a high-resolution water risk filter tool to help individuals and companies determine their water risks. Sanlam also piloted a project that allowed for self-sustaining active ownership for organised labour, intended to capacitate union members and enable them to query issues pertaining to environment, social and governance targets. Sanlam spent a total of R207-million on skills development for its employees and R116.7-million on enterprise and supplier development in 2016.
Most of these goals are long term. CSR is a marathon, not a sprint, but done right, it benefits all, Bangerezako points out. “We continue to look at a way to improve our business, clients we serve, employees and wider society, and have committed to a way we can have a material impact on the Sustainable Development Goals.”